Instagram has announced new features that the social platform says will help teenagers and parents manage time spent on the app

Instagram has announced the new feature called ‘Take a Break,’ where parents will be able to see how much time their children spend on Instagram and set time limits. Teens will also get notifications, reminding them to take a break.

It comes a day before Instagram chief Adam Mosseri is due to appear before US Senators investigating online safety.

Instagram has been under increasing pressure over teens’ use of the platform in recent months.

Frances Haugen sparks action

Parent company Meta’s internal research suggested that teens blamed Instagram for increased anxiety was the first in a series of revelations in France Haugen’s leaked documents from inside Facebook.

The US Senate Committee is expected to quiz Mr Mosseri on Instagram’s internal information on child safety and its plans – as well as what the committee calls “potential legislative solutions”.

Take a break feature unveiled

In his blog post on Insta, Mr Mosseri announced the launch of the “take-a-break” feature, which he had tweeted about in November.

The new feature will be launched on Tuesday in the United Kingdom, Ireland, United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, he said.

“If someone has been scrolling for a certain amount of time, we’ll ask them to take a break from Instagram and suggest that they set reminders to take more breaks in the future,” Mr Mosseri wrote.

Mosseri said the feature would also show them tips from experts to “help them reflect and reset”